Associate
Investigator

Raffi
Aroian, PhD

Professor of Biological Sciences

The Aroian Laboratory researches the basic biology of infectious
diseases using as models the free-living nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, and the
mouse parasitic nematode, Heligmosomoides
polygyrus bakeri. A major focus examines pore-forming
toxins (or PFTs), which are the most common toxin made by pathogenic
bacteria. The laboratory
studies a molecular genetic model of PFT pathogenesis, namely the
interaction of C. elegans
with the PFTs made by Bacillusthuringiensis (Bt). We are
discovering the intracellular pathways that enable C. elegans cells to counteract
intoxication by PFTs, how these pathways are interconnected, and their
protective functions during PFT attack. The laboratory is also
exploring new therapies for soil-transmitted helminths (STH), including
hookworm, whipworm, and Ascaris, which are the most common infections
in humans, affecting in excess of 2 billion. The laboratory has
found that Crystal (Cry) proteins made by Bt are effective
anthelmintics, and can cure two different worm infections in two
different rodents. We are currently using the mouse parasite H. polygyrus to study basic and
applied research questions of how optimize Cry protein anthelmintic
therapies and how to bring Cry proteins to human clinical trial.